Business strategy and advice from the team at Straight Talk Group… you’re in the right place to get things Straight.

Monthly Archives: September 2012

One topic that everyone in the business world – actually scrap that, almost everyone over the age of 16 – is concerned with is “a balanced life” and how to attain it.

Like a “perfect business”, a perfectly “balanced life” is something we never quite attain – and that’s fine! In this instance, a healthy discontent for the present and a drive to keep thinking about how your life is and where you would like it to be is a great mindset. The biggest stumbling block I see my clients tackle when working on their balance is this: understanding what balance means for them.

The tool below is a popular and simple means of evaluating how satisfying and complete your current lifestyle is. By taking the time to sit and reflect with this exercise you can begin to see where you are, where you would like to be and start to plan how you might get there. Please click on the link to view the tool. Wheel of Life-blog

It’s easy to do:

Step 1 | give each category a score and colour it in up to that number (this activity counts for the “me time” quota if you use some coloured pencils).

The key here is to score on how satisfied you are, NOT how you think others would score you in that category. For instance: some people love to work long hours (not you? Me either. But they are out there, in roughly the same numbers as unicorns). Perhaps you feel that the half day course you took was enough “personal development” for the entire year – in this case you can score that section highly, even if your friends perform activities in this category on a daily basis.

Step 2 | Examine your completed wheel – are you travelling smoothly, or is it more like a bumpy road (South Rd perhaps, for those of you that live locally!)? If there are areas that scored poorly, what actions do you need to take to increase your score? Visualize what could make each category “a 10” – is it more time, or just better quality time? Is there a resource you require to achieve it, or is it simply a matter of applying the Nike principle – “Just Do It”?

Step 3 | The next important factor to consider is the synergy of your life balance – how all these categories work together – are they complimentary or do they bump up against each other fighting for attention? If you’ve ever played Trivial Pursuit you’ll know that you need to fill all the Cheese Wedge Spaces to be a winner. For instance: categories that my busy business owner clients often score low is their Health/Fitness. Consider the impact that this has on the rest of your life (and your business!).

Remember: balance in this context is internal, so it’s all about how it works for you.

I’d love to know what your version of balance looks like! As always, comment or drop me a line. Here’s to balanced and happy lives!